The Subordination of Women on University Campuses

Summary

Despite the greater representation of women in North American universities, women are still being subordinated in various ways. Male dominance is still prevalent, and is reinforced by the organizational structure of the university, as well as social norms. This raises multiple issues and concerns for women such as the fear for one’s own safety and the risk of being sexually assaulted. The following Wiki page will explore various examples of female subordination in university environments, namely the Greek system, dancing and sex, and sexual assault. By no means does this page describe the experiences of all university women, but it attempts to reveal issues that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Organizational Structure of the University

With the increasing percentages of women’s attendance in North American universities, one may expect that male dominance would not be as common as it once was. “The male-female ratio in higher education has been steadily moved in favor of the females ever since the 1970s,” with around 43.6 percent of university students being male and 56.4 percent being female. Although women may be dominating the educational aspect of universities, this is not the case for the social aspect—university parties, in particular.

The Greek System

The Greek system is practiced in most universities across North America, and consists of fraternity houses for men and sororities for women. “The campus Greek system cannot operate without university consent.”

Beta Theta Pi Fraternity House at the University of British Columbia

Universities allow fraternities to host parties, while sororities are often prohibited from doing so. This forces female students who want to go to a party to attend parties at fraternity houses. “Fraternities control every aspect of parties at their houses: themes, music, transportation, admission, access to alcohol, and movement of guests. Party themes usually require women to wear scant, sexy clothing and place women in subordinate positions to men.” Regarding access to alcohol, fraternities have the power to provide alcohol to anyone, regardless of their age. Women who attend these parties are “expected to drink, flirt, and socialize.”

Dancing and Sex

One aspect of fraternity parties is dancing. A slang word used to describe a common dance move performed in this environment is “grinding,” a form of erotic dancing defined as “a kind of sexual act that carries significant, socially constructed meaning and may influence behavior in other settings” such as sexual intercourse. Men are responsible for approaching women and initiating the “grinding” and other sexual contact. It is socially acceptable for a man to dance (or have sex) with multiple women; however, women are forced to “navigate a double standard that punishes them for engaging in the same sexual behaviour that would be acceptable for men.” Men are often praised for “capturing” a woman, as it is “a source of self-esteem and status.” This may be problematic when a man is unable to get a woman's consent. Some men refuse to jeopardize their social status by getting rejected, and will go to extreme measures such as intentionally intoxicating a woman so she is unable to refuse sexual actions.

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault on university campuses is prevalent, but there is a lack of reporting for reasons that are case-specific. Most of the time, women are the victims of sexual assault, but men do experience it as well. Many women who are sexually assaulted and speak up about it face the risk of being slut-shamed or victim-blamed. In the case of sexual assaults, “[b]eing a victim was often seen as the result of not taking initiative to protect oneself from danger.” The blame is placed on the victim—typically a female—for reasons such as wearing “revealing” clothing, drinking too much alcohol, or dancing too provocatively, as opposed to blaming the perpetrator for sexually assaulting the victim. For this reason, it can be difficult for a victim to speak up. The Hunting Ground is a documentary about how university administrations fail to effectively address the issue of sexual assault on campus.

Students may not open up to their institution about sexual assault incidents for reasons such as “shame and embarrassment, not thinking the victimization was serious, fear, concerns about confidentiality, denial, and not thinking services would help.”

The Effect on Women

Seeing as fraternities are permitted to host parties while sororities are generally restricted from doing so, and social norms around sexual activity, women are subordinate to men. Women lack the freedom to do whatever they like as they may fear the possibility of being sexually assaulted. When attending fraternity parties, they are already placed at a disadvantage because men hold the power in these situations. While at these parties, women may feel the need to cover their drink because someone may put a drug in it. Women may not want to reach a certain level of drunkenness where they would be unable to refuse unwanted sexual contact. When walking home, women may feel unsafe if they are alone. All of these worries stem from the idea that women are inferior to men.

Is It Possible to Eliminate the Subordination of Women?

Considering the long history of traditional values and beliefs, achieving complete gender equality will take time, but a great example of stepping in the right direction is seen through an incident that occurred in the recent Alma Mater Society (AMS) elections at the University of British Columbia, where controversies arose due to comments on sexual assault by the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC).

Max Holmes, AMS VP Academic candidate

Max Holmes, an AMS VP Academic candidate, rejected an IFC endorsement because the IFC leaders said “those accused of sexual assault should be given housing accommodations, implying frat party attendance was lower when a member accused of sexual assault was there… and using the word “survivor” assumed the guilt of the accused.” These comments show a lack of respect for victims of sexual assault, as well as an unwillingness to educate oneself. Holmes’ brave decision to reject the endorsement due to contradicting values was a great demonstration of how to use one’s voice to raise awareness about the subordination of women.